“Over the Counter” is a column by our music editor focusing on new and interesting music that isn’t featured so prominently. In this edition: new releases from Pile, Container and ADVAETA, plus Ukiah Drag, Uniform and more.[Read more...]

Long running NYC noise makers Helmet brought their 20th anniversary tour for 1994′s album Betty to Saint Vitus in Greenpoint last Sunday. The record was played in full, with an additional second set of career highlights. You can watch part of the two hour long set below.

There are a lot of reasons people get angry in Williamsburg these days. The opening of chains like Starbucks, the soaring rent prices, and the closing of all of our favorite restaurants and music venues are usually the main sources of local ire. However, this time a ‘zombie apocalypse’ is the culprit. A Brooklyn [Read more...]

In this week’s review of the “vegetable forward” cooking at Semilla, Wells was pretty glowing, though he conceded that the newish Williamsburg establishment could be a tad niche:

“The crowd reminded me of the audiences, small but intense, who showed up to hear underground bands in the ’80s and ’90s, when that was one of the few ways to hear music that didn’t get played on the radio.”

Semilla had taken two cabbage leaves, then flattened and dried them until they were as crisp as a cracker. This was the bread. In between were a bundle of unusually delicious coleslaw and some grains of buckwheat groats….The flavors woke up old memories of the Polish and Ukrainian restaurants that are mostly gone from the East Village… [Read more...]

The band I have my eye on is Honeyblood from Scotland. I first heard of the band, formed with Stina Tweeddale on vocal and guitar and Cat Myers on drums, when their 2014 self-titled album was named as a staff pick at Rough Trade. And the duo reeled me in with their song Super Rat, which is the world’s best break-up/I hate you song. “Scum bag sleaze, slime ball grease?” What is not to love?

Honeyblood was the brainchild of Stina, who brought the idea to her friend Cat to help bring it to life. They started out doing small time DIY shows, peddling their two-track cassette “Thrift Shop.” Stina describes there sound as “a bit of garage rock vibe with a pop core.” And with catchy songs like “Bud” and “Killer Bangs,” it is easy to see how the band has made a name for themselves in Glasgow and beyond.

If you want to see these ladies live, show your love in the comments. We’ll pick the winner on Thursday! Or, if you can’t wait, you can purchase tickets here.

In a fit of domestication (and, in this case, transparency), I spent this past Sunday assembling IKEA furniture for my girlfriend. And as anyone who has ever spent their weekend assembling IKEA furniture can tell you, the only thing it makes you want to do is throw on something caustic and smash that pile of Swedish voodoo back into the splinters from whence it came. So here’s to that caustic something and the perhaps foolhardy hope that I can find solace in sonic destruction alone.

If you lived in Williamsburg in the 90s, you likely have warm memories about Teddy’s bar. Before other, more-trendy establishments took over it was the place to get a drink in the neighborhood – a welcoming home to artists and locals alike. The owners were evidently choosy about who purchased the bar, wanting someone who would keep the “classic vibe intact.” Fingers crossed that the buyer doesn’t turn Teddy’s into another generic drinking hole that pays no tribute to its history.

The three owners of Teddy’s Bar and Grill sold it last week, ending their nearly-three-decade claim on the more-than-a-century-old watering hole. In shopping it around, they made a point of picking a buyer who pledged to keep the classic vibe intact, they said.

“We were very eager to find an owner-operator who would cherish what was happening here and not turn it into a luxury steakhouse or an obnoxious chain,” Felice Kirby said. “We had some crazy offers from people, but we did not think those would be a smart move…” [Read more...]

February 24 and 25, Sofar Sounds will turn apartments into music venues for a night, bringing strangers together to witness eclectic bills of local musicians.

Born in London in 2009, Sofar Sounds expanded to world living room domination, with locations peppering cities across six continents. The premise is simple. Friends sick of people talking over the music at shows decided to ditch traditional venues and bring musicians into homes for an intimate setting dedicated to enhancing the listening experience. No talking allowed. [Read more...]